Being Ethan
Full Plot Erica is dreaming she is with Adam, then Kai, then finally Ethan, who says: we're all here for you, Erica. She wakes up alone. Erica's voiceover: "Have you ever woken up from a dream, and felt unsettled, and embarassed, and like that dream was trying to tell you something you didn't want to know? So that you pushed the thoughts it conjured deep down, so that you wouldn't have to see or think, or know that those thoughts existed at all?" Erica is dressed up and walking to 50/50. Julianne and Brent are concerned for Erica but she says while she and Adam didn't patch things up, she is moving onward. Rachel shows them Andre, her cute boyfriend. Erica appreciates the TLC and cupcakes but says she's OK. Brent says to Erica: "Denial is not just a river in Egypt." A dejected Ivan tells Dave their adopted daughter cannot marry Erica and Adam's gorgeous son anymore because they broke up. Kai overhears the conversation and realizes Erica and Adam broke up. Erica decides to go out and grab lunch. When she leaves, Brent and Julianne talk about what happened the other evening, and vow that it won't happen again. Erica bumps into Ethan on a bike and they decide to grab lunch and catch up. Erica asks about Ethan, and he says he's good. She knows he's lying, and he says you're right, I got dumped about a month ago. Erica says she just got dumped last week. Ethan had a terrible breakup with Nataline because she's great, he met her shortly after he and Erica broke up. Erica suggests going dancing that night. Ethan hesitates since they hadn't talked in two years, but then agrees to go to a dance club. They toast to being dumped. Erica asks what happened, and Ethan said they wanted different things. She wanted to move to Ethiopia since she worked at Oxfam as a program coordinator, and had an opportunity to move to Ethiopia. She wanted Ethan to go with her and give up his job and apartment, and draw into his savings. She said this was the opportunity of a lifetime, and he responded that she was being impulsive. He said the trip was a deal breaker, and she's leaving next week. Ethan makes a toast: to regrets. In Dr. Tom's office, Erica says she could see what he was talking about, like a movie was playing in her head. He even used the word regret. Her theory: Ethan keeps going for the wrong women: Claire, herself, Nataline - extroverts who don't want what Ethan wants. He's stable, and quiet. Dr. Tom: so now you're a doctor/matchmaker? Erica remembers a girl Shauna Reycraft who she wanted to set him up with, who was a female version of Ethan. Erica thinks she would have been perfect for him. Dr. Tom says: Let's find out. Erica finds herself with her past boyfriend Emmett. Ethan calls Erica to tell her Claire mailed him a comic calling him boeuf (beef), meaning she thought he was boring, they were over, and she didn't want to work things out. He wants to go to Montreal but Erica thinks he should meet someone more like him, that it might even happen that day. She invites him over to hang out and says she'll also invite someone else. Ethan realizes it's a set up, and Erica says it's an opportunity, doctor's orders. Later that night Shauna and then Ethan arrive. Shauna suggests a game of Pictionary. Erica says they're perfect, and Emmett said: perfectly boring... Emmett suggests playing on the rooftop but Shauna is fearful, saying many roofers die and it's their occupation. Emmett offers everyone brownies but they have nuts so Erica passes due to her allergy. Shauna and Ethan eat the brownies. While playing Pictionary Emmett is drawing, and Shauna realizes he's drawing a penis. She asks how is that a visual depiction of a front yard? Emmett's response: It's his front, and it's about a yard long... Shauna responds that what he did was inappropriate. Shauna feels strange and wants another brownie before pizza arrives. Erica says to Ethan she's great, right? Ethan says it's stuffy. The doorbell rings and Dr. Tom is the pizza delivery man. Erica tells Dr. Tom this isn't working, they have zero chemistry and Ethan isn't into her at all. Dr. Tom asks Erica if she thought setting Ethan up with his twin would work, and quotes "Nothing worth knowing can be taught. Oscar Wilde." Erica concedes and says it's time to end this training session. Dr. Tom: But then you'll miss all the excitement. Erica goes back in, and it's clear Ethan and Shauna are high. Erica asks Emmett what he put in the brownies, and he tells her he put mushrooms in. Erica realizes Ethan is missing, and runs to the rooftop to find he's standing precariously on the wall. Ethan proclaims: "She says I'm boring, I'm the king of the world!" Emmett joins Ethan on the wall. Ethan says: "Do you think I'm boring? Maybe Claire is right. I want to be like you guys." Emmett: "You're a warrior." Both Ethan, then Emmett eventually lose their balance and fall back onto the rooftop, scaring Erica the entire time. Shauna also freaks out and leaves, and Erica has Emmett deal with her. Erica and Ethan are left on the rooftop. Ethan says "you think I'm like Shauna - boring and conservative, pathetic. That's why you tried to set me up with her." Erica says he's a bit high and the effect will last a little longer, but Ethan admits it wasn't just the mushrooms talking. He says: Sometimes I wish I could go for it, but it's not really me. Shauna was nice and hot but not really my type. Erica asks: Ethan, who is your type? He responds: Claire, She's crazy and out there, and says what she thinks all the time. Erica realizes he needs this even though Claire drives him nuts sometimes. Brent and Julliane are brainstorming late in the evening, and Rachel is still there. Julianne tells her to go home. Brent tells Julianne she's beautiful, she kisses him and they sleep together. Back at the dance club, Ethan sees a woman he mistakenly thinks is Nataline. Erica prods him to call her, go to her, and fix it but Ethan says no, he's tired and wants to leave. An exasperated Erica finally asks: "why do you do that? Change the subject, ignore what you want. You're in love with this woman, why let the relationship die over a trip? Why are you attacking me? Why say one thing when clearly you want something else." She tells him he falls for people like Claire, Nataline, and herself, then he gets pushed and prodded out of his safety bubble. "When we do what drew you to us, you punish us." Ethan retorts: "Because you're expert at making relationships work", then he leaves. Erica dances with different guys, and eventually goes home alone. Next morning Erica gets a knock at her door. It's Ethan, and he was walking around for hours, thinking how familiar it all feels. He says she's right, he pushed Nataline away because he wouldn't let her be her. He asks: Why did I do it with you? I was fine until you wanted to take a huge risk and open your own company. He gets scared, thinks of obstacles, practicalities, and finds a way to say no. He says this is who he is, and Erica says no, it's not you. "Deep down, there's a guy who wants to be brave, to go for it. Then there is the other part, the scared part, that's always screwing everything up." Ethan asks do I tell that part to shut up and Erica says: "basically. Recognize it for what it is, think about what you have to lose. Apartment, job, or the woman that you're in love with?" Erica drives Ethan to Nataline, and he's afraid, but Erica encourages him and he goes and talks to her. They hug and reconcile, and he waves goodbye to Erica. Erica thinks about calling Adam, then doesn't and drives off. At 50/50, Julianne and Brent clear the air. He confesses: "I've wanted you since the first day I met you." She responds: "It explains a lot of things. Now it's my turn. I have loved you too as a friend for years. It's only recently that it's become more than that. A lot more." They kiss, and Rachel walks in. They try to play cool but Rachel says you don't have to be psychic to see what's going on with you two. Erica won't be as distracted as she was these last couple days so if you want to keep your affair covert you should get a room. At Goblins, Ivan returns a scarf Adam gave him to give to Erica. Ivan wants to smack Adam, and Erica says thanks but I'm fine. She sees Kai at Goblins and Kai tells her: I think Adam is an idiot for letting you go. At Dr. Tom's office, Erica says that Ethan is doing well and going to Ethiopia. She was upset it took her awhile to figure Ethan out. Dr. Tom responds: "Sometimes you need the journey to see what was in front of you the whole time. Ethan was being inauthentic and you figured it out in the end. He hides it really well. We all do, it's how we protect ourselves. We push down what we truly want." He then turns the focus to what Erica has been doing since her breakup with Adam - the clothes she was wearing, dancing at a club, being wanted by men. He asks if it makes her feel better. "There is a contract between men and women that we don't talk about certain things. If a man desires you, what does that do for you? How does that make things better? Adam rejected you, and you're not dealing with that. Instead you're doing this, and it's important to understand why that is." Erica: I don't really need this right now. So Adam doesn't want to be with me, painful fact but I don't think I have to dig around to find why it upsets me. Dr. Tom asks: What are you going to do about it? Erica responds: I'm going to find someone who does want to be with me. I don't have to look hard, he's right out there. I want Kai, maybe I was meant to be with him. Dr. Tom tries to dig further but Erica says we're done and walks out. Back in Goblins, Kai left just a minute ago. Erica catches up with him and kisses him. Erica's voiceover: "For all of us, there is a tension between who we think we are and what we really feel and want and need. Sometimes it's hard to tell the truth from a lie." Category:Episodes Category:Season 4 Episodes